(6/15/05) Jewfish: 1 Spearfisherman: 0

[ILDiver]

I think the guys (looks and physique aside) are poking some good natured, self deprecating fun at the situation. I agree - I don't honestly think that the two "hunters" are on some Capt'n Ahab obsessive deathwish white whale hunt or anything.

I think some of our posters are a little over the edge, too - the whole "I'll dive with whatever weapons and technological means necessary to keep from getting munched, I am human hear me roar" stuff.

Heck - I was way over the edge applying a WWF slant to fish wrestling.

It is about having fun here at SB - and this thread has delivered more laughs to me than all of the SSI v PADI LeisurePro Tank Exploding Which Drysuit threads combined. I think we all lightened up a bit in this one.

All y'all - you guys rule. Thanks for the laughs.

---
Ken

I get your point. I guess I was just amazed at the people that seemed ready to hang this guy. The jokes I got. A good suplex every now and then is great, that's how I keep the wife in line! Never tried a fish, figured I would have trouble keeping a hold of it.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I think some of our posters are a little over the edge, too - the whole "I'll dive with whatever weapons and technological means necessary to keep from getting munched, I am human hear me roar" stuff.

I think you're missing the point a bit here. For example, if I'm reading Epinephelus right, he's saying that you don't have to position yourself in the middle of the food chain. It may mean you carry a bang stick. But it also may mean that you don't spearfish around bull sharks, or if you do then you don't fight the shark for a fish he wants, and you don't clip your striger off to your body; it may mean you don't surf where Great Whites feed. It doesn't mean that "I can dive anywhere, any time and be at the top of the food chain." It just means that with planning, education, equipment and skill you can stay in charge and choose to dive where, when and under the circumstances that keep you on top.
I sure plan to do it that way.
Rick

 

[Mo2vation]

I think you're missing the point a bit here. For example, if I'm reading Epinephelus right, he's saying that you don't have to position yourself in the middle of the food chain. It may mean you carry a bang stick. But it also may mean that you don't spearfish around bull sharks, or if you do then you don't fight the shark for a fish he wants, and you don't clip your striger off to your body; it may mean you don't surf where Great Whites feed. It doesn't mean that "I can dive anywhere, any time and be at the top of the food chain." It just means that with planning, education, equipment and skill you can stay in charge and choose to dive where, when and under the circumstances that keep you on top.
I sure plan to do it that way.
Rick

I read strong action verbs in Epinephelus' posts like "decide" and "choose" and "prepare" and I can agree with you - sort of. In the actual world, all of his preparation may well amount to precicesly zip if Sharky gets curious, or hungry, or p-ed off - or all of these.

Then I see a post with a photo of some kids with a dead shark, and read a boast stating, essentially "me XXX, Shark 0 - Still, as food goes, so far I'm way ahead" and what I'm really hearing is essentially, "I am human, hear me roar..."

Then again, I've never had to face down a shark with all my weapons and preparation. So what the heck do I really know, anyway.

Like I said - no biggie. We see the same thing differently.

---
Ken

 

[adurso]

adurso,
polar bears are not afraid of man and they are not extinct...........yet.
regards,

Nor are the bears in many national parks, the man-eating tigers and bull sharks mentioned earlier are an aberration...when tigers begin to prey on humans they are generally old and crippled to some extent, they are then hunted down and killed, the bull sharks in Zambezi get introduced to mr. dynamite when they become an issue...your key word is yet....There are exceptions to every rule, polar bears kill a statistically insignificant number of people each year, so do other types of bears, should the public percieve a problem, much as was done with wolves as vicious predators, bearskin rugs will become a glut on the market, in order to keep wolves from extinction strict conservation measures were emplaced.

 

[adurso]

Hmm, man-eating tigers, bull sharks up the Delhi River ... we're prey in their space.

As far as the extinct issue ... look what we did to the velociraptor ... totally extinct.

Luckily for us the guys from Jurassic Park were able to reconstitute the DNA from mosquitos frozen in amber and mix it with frog DNA to give us the opportunity to observe these beautiful creatures in the wild on the Island of Death... I am really hoping they are able to reintroduce the carchocles megalodon into the wild....or if you look at a real theory the velociraptors evolved into birds and are around us every day...I never did like the way the sparrows look at me and drool...

 

[Epinephelus]

Then I see a post with a photo of some kids with a dead shark, and read a boast stating, essentially "me XXX, Shark 0 - Still, as food goes, so far I'm way ahead" and what I'm really hearing is essentially, "I am human, hear me roar..."

Gee whiz... GMAB.
I posted the picture simply to show that I am not inexperienced with sharks, and that I've been up-close-and-personal with them for a long time.
Because of that, I am probably much more likely to decide (there's that word again) to leave before most folks because I can recognize better and earlier when staying would ratchet me down from the top to somewhere lower in the food chain. If that's "roaring" then so be it.
I totally agree with Tom Smedley that if a jewfish thumps, it's time to leave.
e

 

[DiveGolfSki]

....should the public percieve a problem, much as was done with wolves as vicious predators, bearskin rugs will become a glut on the market...

Let's not forget about the passenger pigeons, the dodo, the Tasmanian tiger ... all dangerous wildlife that humans wanted taken out ... :bigun2: ... DIE SUCKERS!

Of course, there's the other view:

Causes of Extinction.

Humans have played a significant role in the extinction of species prior to historic times but the true extent of such anthropogenic impacts during the Holocene (the last 11,000 years) remains unclear. However, after 1500 AD it is clear that humans are responsible for most recorded extinctions. The exact causes of most extinctions are poorly documented, but invasive alien species, habitat loss, and over-exploitation have all been major factors. Even when species are relatively well studied it is often difficult to identify the main cause of extinction as most species are threatened by more than one process and these often interact in unpredictable ways. Furthermore, the threat process that causes a species to become susceptible to extinction (such as habitat loss) may be very different to the final process that drives it to extinction (such as a hurricane). Relatively good data exist for birds indicating that the impacts of invasive alien species, over-exploitation by humans, and habitat destruction and degradation have been the major causes of extinctions, with invasive species being associated with the extinction of at least 65 species. Predation by introduced dogs, pigs and mongooses, and habitat destruction by sheep, rabbits and goats have been implicated in the extinctions of some of these species. However, it is predation by introduced rats and cats, and diseases caused by introduced pathogens that have been the most deadly overall, contributing to the extinction of some 30, 20 and 10 species respectively.

Source: http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/english.htm

No Way that can't be it!!! :11: Animals deemed "Dangerous" by humans become extinct. Isn't it great to be on top the food chain!!!!
Of course, nature has a way of getting even ... survival of the fittest

DING DONG!!
Lady: Who is it?
Allie: Plumber.
Lady: I didn't hire a plumber. Who is it!?
Allie: Flowers.
Lady: What... for who?
Allie: Plumber
Lady: ...you're...that crazy landshark aren't you?
Allie: No maam, I am just an alligator.. will you let me in please?
Lady: An Alligator! OK!
Allie: :weakest:

 

[adurso]

I always liked that picture of the alligator at the door.....

 

[Dragon2115]

...polar bears are not afraid of man and they are not extinct...

No they aren't, and they are the only bear in the world that will actively hunt a human on occassion. Make the trip up to Churchill, Manitoba around the end of October for a fascinating time with the southern Polar bears of Hudsons Bay.

 

[GrierHPharmD]

Well, since we're talking about spearfishing for Grouper and being all politically correct about the name change, I thought I'd share this web site. I laughed for almost an hour when I found it.

http://www.fishinghurts.com/
:lol:

Of course, if you do a Google search for PETA, you'll get this site (People Eating Tasty Animals), which offers an opposing viewpoint.

Of course, while I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch (I'll eat just about any animal, just as soon as it's stopped coughing up blood.), I did like this part of the PETA site:

http://www.fishinghurts.com/feat/carreotis/

I feel so PC now...